as i continue to learn more about how to turn my pictures into a more complex form of digital art, here are a few of the ones i’m happy with.

though i’m playing around most of the time with smaller pictures (ones that i already saved) i’m realizing i need to start exporting them without a size restraint so that i can have more pixels to work with….

also – i hope to be updating my blog, my portfolio, and the cirque de fantomes website in a few weeks/next month. they’re all long overdue for an overhaul and i hope to make things easier to get to/look at.

oh, and another thing – i recently opened up a store on redbubble. i hope to start adding some of these “fancied up” pics when i get some more done at a higher resolution.

one thing i did while i was silent here was to start playing/learning editing techniques in photoshop. primarily i was working on learning to work with textures, levels, and contrast to create more interesting and atmospheric pictures.

i still have a way to go, but i feel like they’re starting to look more alive and interesting. this weekend i took some pics of the kitsune to work with. my mom had told me that if i left the flowers on our hydrangea they would dry out and create interesting semi-skeletal flowers. well… ours didn’t exactly hit the skeletal stage, but we’ve also had an extremely wet winter so maybe they didn’t get the chance to.

as an aside… i need to find some more vintage tie pins… they make great hairpins!

okay, slowly pulling myself back together and getting back on the ball with my artwork. a lot of what i’ve been working on has been 2D stuff – drawing primarily with some photography. i also decided to focus mostly on my blog, instagram, and patreon as places to share things (the latter two being the most important ones – sorry blog! ). so i must admit, these pictures have been shared before in other places, but i wanted to update the blog here with things i had shared since it’s been awhile and i’ll be coming back here with posts. not sure how often, but at least this is a start right?

depression hit me pretty hard this winter, so one morning i decided to walk around and look at the snow (we had just received about 10 inches of it… ). i’m still not sure what made me decided i had to take my camera with me, but i’m glad i did as i was able to capture some truly amazing shots in t he woods near my house. though i’ve only processed two pictures from that day (even though it’s been a few weeks) i’m still happy with just the two -

that day was when i started to pull myself together, though it is still a work in process. i used some of my drawings to help as well, taking a chance to experiment with color and ink splatters to add interest.

lastly i started a personal yearlong project to help me overcome my discomfort/embarrassment/fear of having pictures taken of me. i decided to try and do a self portrait each month with one of my dolls. even though i had never done it before and was fairly certain i would have nothing of worth, i was once again surprised by two shots that came out really well –

yes, it’s been nearly a month since my last post. between being sick and life deciding to kick me down every day (this animal sick, that animal sick, me sick, roommate sick, car breaking down, fridge breaking down… ) i haven’t done much or had the energy to do much.

but unexpectedly we got a TON of snow. and we’re still getting more snow. oh the snow… we’re not going to be leaving the house anytime soon it seems.

but it gave me a chance to take some more snow pics with the nekomata this time ^^

so the first snow (and ice) of the season came on thursday. and though i worked that day, i was able to take some pics yesterday before it all melted away in the rain.

it’s been hard to be motivated and inspired when each day just seems to get worse and worse. i feel more and more like those in power don’t care about the people they’re supposed to govern. that no one cares about their fellow humans (or animals or planet) – that we’ve devolved into a group of self-centered narcissists.

however, i’m more than happy to be proven wrong and truly hope that i will be…. but i’m also a pessimist by nature, which is why i hide myself in my art….

i hadn’t intended it this way, but to me there’s a sense of sadness and anger in some of the pics i took of kame. though in her defense, she was naked and it was like 33 degrees outside….

yes, it’s been awhile since i last posted.
yes, i’ve let life swallow me up again.
yes, i’ve been facing a lot of anxiety and stress and depression and trying to use art to keep me sane.
and yes, i’m having trouble balancing part time job, art job, housework, and taking care of the animals (the last one has become even more of a job now that my dog was diagnosed with liver failure… yay…. sigh)

if you follow me on facebook or instagram, you’ve seen that i’ve posted a few sporadic pics there. i’d like to share some of those here. first – i did a couple of shoots with the kitsune now that she’s back from the show she was in over the summer. i only got a small handful of pics from each shoot, so they’re sort of combined here….

i also recently did a shoot with the dragon, since he’s being taught again through a for artistic. it’s been hard to find the time and energy to sculpt new dolls or do photographs, so i have to admit lately i’ve mostly just been doing drawings…. and not getting much response/feedback has made it hard to stay motivated, but at the same time i use the art to help me cope with the stresses and anxiety of the world that surrounds me… and right now, i really REALLY need that escape….

i've been drawing for as long as i could hold a pencil and art became my first language. though i've only been sculpting since 2007, i fell in love with the idea of being able to bring my drawings to life.
i am heavily inspired by medieval macabre artwork, japanese yokai, and oddly enough, sherlock holmes.
currently i'm living just south of beautiful portland oregon ^^